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The Colley Matrix finished the season with UCF #1 and Bama #2. This is one of the former BCS polls that is recognized and legitimized by the NCAA. So basically the National Championship claim is legit.

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He waited too long for this opportunity; too long to run his own show.

Plus, let’s be clear: Pruitt had just landed the University of Tennessee’s top job while he also embraced the task of preparing Alabama for an eventual, magical, final national championship run in charge of the Tide defense – his fifth title-winning stop-unit.

So once he landed in Knoxville on Dec. 7, 2017, to be introduced as this storied program’s 26th head coach, Pruitt didn’t find time for a nap until after he had welcomed in Tennessee’s first group of official visitors and continued his work inside the Anderson Training Center well into Saturday morning.

Remember, Pruitt had been introduced to Vol Nation alongside new athletics director Phillip Fulmer during a late-afternoon press conference Thursday of that week.

“It was crazy, the day of the press conference, full-time staff didn’t leave ‘til 4 a.m. the next day,” said a UT staffer. “…Love them. Great group of coaches and more importantly, actually REALLY good people. They are crazy hard workers though, those first couple days Pruitt literally didn’t sleep.”

Added another UT coach, “The first 40, 42 hours there, we didn’t sleep at all the night after the press conference. It was about 3 a.m. Friday night (Saturday morning). We’ve got to get (big-time) guys.”

During press conferences for the College Football Playoffs, Pruitt made clear his only hat on the recruiting trail was a ‘Power T.’

“What was interesting, (recently) we’re in a (Tide) staff meeting and they’re starting to set up calls for (Nick) Saban,” Pruitt said. “And they’re kind of going down the list, (defensive assistant) Tosh (Lupoi) is, he’s like, ‘We need to call this guy, this guy, this guy.’ And then he pauses and says, ‘We got a couple more that you need to call, Coach.’ And Coach Saban kind of looked at him, nobody said anything, and he goes, ‘Well, who?’

“And Tosh just kind of paused, and I said, ‘Tosh, do you need me to leave the room?’ So everybody kind of got a kick out of it, but we all recruit the same guys.”

That was evidenced that same sleepless opening weekend, when Pruitt ran point and his staffers immediately jetted around the country in the onset of a continued relentless effort to not merely salvage, but lift up the Vols’ 2018 signing class. Pruitt & Co. signed 13 players in the early period and have since trended upward for numerous national recruits – evidenced most recently by the commitment of the uber-talented J.J. Peterson.

“We’re going to recruit the same guys that Florida State does, that LSU does, that Auburn does,” Pruitt explained. “The thing about it is the guys on these staffs, we’re all friends, and there’s not going to be any recruit that gets in the way of our friendship. If we’re not recruiting the same guy that Alabama and Florida State and Auburn and Georgia’s recruiting, and Ohio State, then I think we’re probably recruiting the wrong guys.”

Added a current SEC staffer who previously worked with Pruitt, “He never walks into a house or home where he’s meeting with a family, kid or coach where he’s uncomfortable. It goes back to the communication thing, when he walks into a room he’s comfortable with himself and everybody there is comfortable with him. He has an ability to make everybody comfortable and that in and of itself gets him in the door and then he sells it. He’s so comfortable in any situation, no matter whose house it is.”

By the time Pruitt returned to Rocky Top with just the Tennessee duties outlined in his six-year pact, he once again really had not had much in the way of sleep.

Crimson Tide players and coaches did not depart Mercedes-Benz Stadium Tuesday until approximately 1:30 a.m.; the majority of coaches and staffers celebrated ‘Bama’s stirring triumph in the team’s hospitality suites upon their return to the hotel. Buses loaded later Tuesday morning, the Tide flew back to Tuscaloosa and then UT spirited Pruitt to his new perch on Rocky Top.

In addition to his need to close out his inaugural Tennessee staff and continue the Vols’ recruiting surge since his hiring, Pruitt also will meet with media on campus Wednesday afternoon at 1:30.

“He knows exactly what he wants and what it takes to win at the highest level,” emphasized a UT athletics employee. “And he will not accept anything less than that.

“Just a crazy drive to be successful.”

Sleepless in Knoxville. Right now, that’s just part of Pruitt’s process.

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How in the hell does Texas have a 20/1 chance of winning the championship?

They haven't come close to appearing in a significant bowl since the 2009 season. Hell, they barely qualified for a bowl game this year after failing to qualify the previous two seasons.

This is exactly why programs like UCF will never got a seat at the table because the powers that be always give blue blood programs a head start in the rankings. UCF will be made to start off in the 20s at best while the programs like Notre Dame and Texas will always be afforded the benefit of the doubt, even when they don't deserve it.

I don't even think Oklahoma should be a top 5 team going into next season but I've already seen a couple of national sites list them there in their "way too early top 25 for 2018" polls. We're losing Mayfield and a few more All-Conference/All-Americans on offense. I'm expecting 3 or 4 losses next year.

Don’t pull the trigger to quickly on Mayfields departure. The Murray kid is a top notch replacement. I saw him all his high school years and he has had some college exposure before coming to OU. He is faster than Mayfield and his arm is as strong. Whether his accuracy and position knowledge is up to par remains to be seen but he is an exceptional athlete.

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The Colley Matrix finished the season with UCF #1 and Bama #2. This is one of the former BCS polls that is recognized and legitimized by the NCAA. So basically the National Championship claim is legit.

In short...FACE!

I will grant you that your claim may have merit but it isnt legit in any form or fashion. To my knowledge there is only one legitimate venue for the Championship to be determined. The team did not participate in it so they have no legitimate claim. I might agree that they deserve a chance to have participated but that obviously will not happen.

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You will have to hand it to the kid. His career has been pretty good for a walk on player.

You don’t believe the drama that he likes to put out about the walk-on stuff do you? He tells the story that OU had no clue that he was on campus and he had no contact with OU before he just suddenly showed up. That story is BS. Daddy has OU connections on the coaching staff.

He also had D1 offers that he turned down but chose to walkon at Tech. He loves the attention and making it seems like he is such an special, unfortunate individual.

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I will grant you that your claim may have merit but it isnt legit in any form or fashion. To my knowledge there is only one legitimate venue for the Championship to be determined. The team did not participate in it so they have no legitimate claim. I might agree that they deserve a chance to have participated but that obviously will not happen.

And you would be wrong. The only poll that is contractually obligated to follow the results of the sham invitational tournament is the Coache’s Poll.

The AP and all other polls are free to crown whom they want.

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You don’t believe the drama that he likes to put out about the walk-on stuff do you? He tells the story that OU had no clue that he was on campus and he had no contact with OU before he just suddenly showed up. That story is BS. Daddy has OU connections on the coaching staff.

He also had D1 offers that he turned down but chose to walkon at Tech. He loves the attention and making it seems like he is such an special, unfortunate individual.